Mike Greenlar / The Post-StandardMothers Against Gun Violence founding member Helen Hudson hugs Sister Ida Gregoire at a vigil for murder victim Timothy Gordon, the cab driver who was was shot on January 30th.

SYRACUSE, NY - Sixteen people gathered in the chilly evening air tonight in Syracuse to remember a slain cab driver and to pray that gun violence soon comes to an end.

As they held hands in a circle at the corner of Summit and Stolp avenues in the Stathmore neighborhood, the men and women prayed for the family of Timothy Gordon Jr., who was shot near that spot Jan. 30 by a passenger in his cab.

Gordon died Jan. 31 in the hospital.

"Change is not coming as fast as we would hope," said a somber Helen Hudson, co-founder of Mothers Against Gun Violence, the group that organized the vigil. "A lot of mothers are feeling the pain. A lot of mothers are hurting.

Like several of those at the vigil, Hudson had lost a relative to violence. Hudson's stepson was killed in 2005.

Syracuse police have accused Denny DeJesus, 20, of shooting Gordon in the head to avoid paying cab fare.

Dulce Collette-Lloyd, whose son, like Gordon, was 29 when he was killed, said young people should have the courage to call the police if they see someone with a gun.

"You see somebody with a gun, go somewhere and tell somebody," she said. "We're all going to have to step up."

Rachel Titus, whose son was killed in 2005, said the community grows stronger as people gather to mourn the victims and to commit themselves to ending violence.

"We'll see a difference," she said. "We're making a difference."

As the group disbanded in the fading light, a single small candle continued to burn in the snow by the side of the road.